Darkness to Light: The Gay Liberation Movement in the West Village

In the early morning of June 8th, 1969 police raided a gay bar called the Stonewall Inn and inadvertently sparked a riot that would change the social fabric of America. On this Greenwich Village Tour, We’re taking you back to that night and the movement it spawned in the Village and beyond. Our local guide will take you to famous gay bars along Christopher Street to introduce you to the locations and landmarks around which New York’s long-closeted gay community was able make itself public, unite and organize for more rights. Along the way, we’ll see the city’s oldest gay bar and spots on the national register of historic places. We’ll also touch on the devastation caused by the AIDS epidemic and how the community banded together to overcome it. Our Greenwich Village tour ends outside Big Gay Ice Cream, a reminder of how far the community has come in the years since the Stonewall riots and a beacon for a brighter future.

Hours: Sat and Sun 1:30 PM

Location: This tour meets at Christopher Square Park across from the Stonewall Inn located at 53 Christopher St

In the early morning of June 8th, 1969 police raided a gay bar called the Stonewall Inn and inadvertently sparked a riot that would change the social fabric of America. On this Greenwich Village Tour, We’re taking you back to that night and the movement it spawned in the Village and beyond. Our local guide will take you to famous gay bars along Christopher Street to introduce you to the locations and landmarks around which New York’s long-closeted gay community was able make itself public, unite and organize for more rights. Along the way, we’ll see the city’s oldest gay bar and spots on the national register of historic places. We’ll also touch on the devastation caused by the AIDS epidemic and how the community banded together to overcome it. Our Greenwich Village tour ends outside Big Gay Ice Cream, a reminder of how far the community has come in the years since the Stonewall riots and a beacon for a brighter future.